Janus Directive
Encyclopedia
"The Janus Directive" was an eleven-part comic book
crossover
first published by DC Comics
between May and June of 1989
. Among the creators who contributed to the storyline were writers John Ostrander
, Kim Yale
, Paul Kupperberg
, Cary Bates
and Greg Weisman
and artists John K. Snyder III, Rick Hoberg, Rafael Kayanan, Tom Mandrake and Pat Broderick
.
(vol. 1) and Suicide Squad
(vol. 1), though Manhunter
(vol. 1), Firestorm
(vol. 2), and Captain Atom
(vol. 5), all had individual issues which were involved in the crossover. Checkmate! and Suicide Squad were published biweekly for the duration of the event.
The storyline focused on the covert operations super-teams and organizations that existed in the DC Universe
at the time.
began to send her agents on missions in the apparent pursuit of her own private agenda, the so-called Janus Directive, one that brought the Squad into conflict with other metahuman villains and government agencies. So, an all-out mayhem broke loose among these groups, involving various metahumans associated with the United States military and civilian agencies.
Eventually, it came out that Waller had not gone rogue, but had been nearly assassinated by the cult leader Kobra
. Kobra had tried to murder Waller and replace her with a subservient doppelgänger
in order to then manipulate and mislead the various government agencies to keep them from stopping his own plan: to activate a massive space-based microwave pulse cannon that would fry all electronic systems (not to mention human nervous systems) in the eastern United States, unleashing the Kali Yuga
, the age of chaos he thought it was his destiny to commence. Waller had gotten the drop on her double and murdered it instead, but decided to play the role of the double in order to ferret out the true mastermind behind the Janus Directive. Eventually, the truth was revealed, and the groups united and stormed Kobra's space ark, capturing him and destroying his weapon.
The fallout of the Janus Directive saw a very irate President Bush reorganize the various agencies to bring them more tightly under executive control; he dissolved Task Force X, the umbrella organization under which both Checkmate and the Squad operated and the component agencies becoming autonomous, and made Sarge Steel
a Cabinet
-level official with overall control of all governmental metahuman activity on the civilian side. General Wade Eiling
was made his equivalent in the Department of Defense
. Waller was put on probation by Bush because of her "lone wolf" tactics, much to her displeasure.
Waller would soon thereafter be imprisoned for taking matters into her own hands one time too many, after she led an assassination team to personally liquidate the Vodou-oriented drug ring called the Loa
. This led to the shut-down of all Suicide Squad operations for one year.
(Ronald Raymond), Firehawk and Manhunter
(Mark Shaw) did play a part in the storyline's resolution, they were nowhere as important as the characters in this chart.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
crossover
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
first published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
between May and June of 1989
1989 in comics
-Year overall:* "Inferno" company-wide Marvel Comics crossover continues, involving the mutant titles The Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, The New Mutants, and Excalibur, as well as the X-Terminators limited series and various other Marvel titles...
. Among the creators who contributed to the storyline were writers John Ostrander
John Ostrander
John Ostrander is an American writer of comic books. He is best known for his work on Suicide Squad, Grimjack and Star Wars: Legacy, series he helped create.-Career:...
, Kim Yale
Kim Yale
Kim Yale was an American writer and editor of comic books for multiple comic book companies, including Marvel Comics, DC Comics, First Comics and Warp Graphics....
, Paul Kupperberg
Paul Kupperberg
Paul Kupperberg is a former editor for DC Comics, and a prolific writer of comic books and newspaper strips.-Biography:Kupperberg entered the comics field from comics fandom, as had his brother, writer/artist Alan Kupperberg...
, Cary Bates
Cary Bates
Cary Bates is an American comic book, animation television and film writer.-Biography:Bates began submitting ideas for comic book covers to DC Comics at the age of 13, and a number of them were bought and published, the first as the cover to Superman #167...
and Greg Weisman
Greg Weisman
Greg Weisman is an American comic book and animation writer and producer, best known as the creator of Gargoyles and as the Supervising Producer of The Spectacular Spider-Man. Weisman is currently a producer on the Young Justice animated series...
and artists John K. Snyder III, Rick Hoberg, Rafael Kayanan, Tom Mandrake and Pat Broderick
Pat Broderick
Pat Broderick is an American comic book artist known for his work on the Micronauts. Broderick also pencilled the four-part Batman: Year Three storyline, written by Marv Wolfman, which detailed the first meeting of Batman and Tim Drake.-Early career :Fresh from high school in Tampa, Florida,...
.
History
The storyline did not have its own series, but ran through several titles - mainly Checkmate!Checkmate (comics)
Checkmate, a division of Task Force X, is a fictional covert operations agency within the DC Comics universe. It first appeared in Action Comics #598 and proceeded to have its own ongoing title in Checkmate!...
(vol. 1) and Suicide Squad
Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad, also known as Task Force X , is a name for two fictional organizations in the DC Comics Universe. The first version debuted in The Brave and the Bold #25 , and the second in Legends #3...
(vol. 1), though Manhunter
Manhunter (comics)
-Golden Age:The first of DC's Manhunters was a non-costumed independent investigator, Paul Kirk, who helped police solve crimes during the early 1940s. Though the series was titled "Paul Kirk, Manhunter", Kirk didn't use the Manhunter name as an alias...
(vol. 1), Firestorm
Firestorm (comics)
Firestorm is the name of several comic book superheroes published by DC Comics. Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein, the first Firestorm, debuted in Firestorm, the Nuclear Man #1 , and was created by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom. Martin Stein, by himself as Firestorm, debuted in Firestorm the Nuclear...
(vol. 2), and Captain Atom
Captain Atom
Captain Atom is a fictional comic book superhero that has existed in three basic incarnations. Created by writer Joe Gill and artist/co-writer Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Space Adventures #33 . Captain Atom was created for Charlton Comics but was later acquired by DC Comics and revised for...
(vol. 5), all had individual issues which were involved in the crossover. Checkmate! and Suicide Squad were published biweekly for the duration of the event.
The storyline focused on the covert operations super-teams and organizations that existed in the DC Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
at the time.
Plot
Suicide Squad leader Amanda WallerAmanda Waller
Dr. Amanda Blake Waller is a character published by DC Comics. She first appeared in Legends #1 in 1986, and was created by John Ostrander, Len Wein, and John Byrne...
began to send her agents on missions in the apparent pursuit of her own private agenda, the so-called Janus Directive, one that brought the Squad into conflict with other metahuman villains and government agencies. So, an all-out mayhem broke loose among these groups, involving various metahumans associated with the United States military and civilian agencies.
Eventually, it came out that Waller had not gone rogue, but had been nearly assassinated by the cult leader Kobra
Kobra (comics)
Kobra is the name used by two fictional supervillains published by DC Comics. The Jeffrey Burr Kobra first appeared in Kobra #1 , and was created by Martin Pasko, Steve Sherman, Jack Kirby, and Pablo Marcos...
. Kobra had tried to murder Waller and replace her with a subservient doppelgänger
Doppelgänger
In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
in order to then manipulate and mislead the various government agencies to keep them from stopping his own plan: to activate a massive space-based microwave pulse cannon that would fry all electronic systems (not to mention human nervous systems) in the eastern United States, unleashing the Kali Yuga
Kali Yuga
Kali Yuga is the last of the four stages that the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas described in the Indian scriptures. The other ages are Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga...
, the age of chaos he thought it was his destiny to commence. Waller had gotten the drop on her double and murdered it instead, but decided to play the role of the double in order to ferret out the true mastermind behind the Janus Directive. Eventually, the truth was revealed, and the groups united and stormed Kobra's space ark, capturing him and destroying his weapon.
The fallout of the Janus Directive saw a very irate President Bush reorganize the various agencies to bring them more tightly under executive control; he dissolved Task Force X, the umbrella organization under which both Checkmate and the Squad operated and the component agencies becoming autonomous, and made Sarge Steel
Sarge Steel
Sarge Steel is a detective/spy character published by Charlton Comics during the 1960s. As he was published during the time of Charlton's Action Heroes line of superheroes, and had loose ties to some, he is sometimes included with that group...
a Cabinet
United States Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...
-level official with overall control of all governmental metahuman activity on the civilian side. General Wade Eiling
General Wade Eiling
General Wade Eiling, sometimes known as The General, is a fictional character published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Captain Atom #1 , and was created by Cary Bates and Pat Broderick.-Captain Atom:...
was made his equivalent in the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
. Waller was put on probation by Bush because of her "lone wolf" tactics, much to her displeasure.
Waller would soon thereafter be imprisoned for taking matters into her own hands one time too many, after she led an assassination team to personally liquidate the Vodou-oriented drug ring called the Loa
Loa
The Loa are the spirits of the voodoo religion practiced in Louisiana, Haiti, Benin, and other parts of the world. They are also referred to as Mystères and the Invisibles, in which are intermediaries between Bondye —the Creator, who is distant from the world—and humanity...
. This led to the shut-down of all Suicide Squad operations for one year.
Major players
While individual operatives like FirestormFirestorm (comics)
Firestorm is the name of several comic book superheroes published by DC Comics. Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein, the first Firestorm, debuted in Firestorm, the Nuclear Man #1 , and was created by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom. Martin Stein, by himself as Firestorm, debuted in Firestorm the Nuclear...
(Ronald Raymond), Firehawk and Manhunter
Manhunter (comics)
-Golden Age:The first of DC's Manhunters was a non-costumed independent investigator, Paul Kirk, who helped police solve crimes during the early 1940s. Though the series was titled "Paul Kirk, Manhunter", Kirk didn't use the Manhunter name as an alias...
(Mark Shaw) did play a part in the storyline's resolution, they were nowhere as important as the characters in this chart.
| Project Atom | C.B.I. | Checkmate | Force of July | Project Peacemaker | Suicide Squad |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major Wade Eiling General Wade Eiling General Wade Eiling, sometimes known as The General, is a fictional character published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Captain Atom #1 , and was created by Cary Bates and Pat Broderick.-Captain Atom:... |
Sarge Steel Sarge Steel Sarge Steel is a detective/spy character published by Charlton Comics during the 1960s. As he was published during the time of Charlton's Action Heroes line of superheroes, and had loose ties to some, he is sometimes included with that group... |
Harry Stein | Major Victory Major Victory The Major Victory name has been used by three fictional characters in the DC Comics universe. The name was first used by a character in Batman and The Outsiders Annual #1 . He was affiliated with groups like Force of July, and Suicide Squad.... |
Peacemaker Peacemaker (comics) The Peacemaker is the name of a series of superheroes originally owned by Charlton Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. The original Peacemaker first appeared in Fightin' 5 #40 The Peacemaker is the name of a series of superheroes originally owned by Charlton Comics and later acquired by DC... |
Amanda Waller Amanda Waller Dr. Amanda Blake Waller is a character published by DC Comics. She first appeared in Legends #1 in 1986, and was created by John Ostrander, Len Wein, and John Byrne... |
| Professor Heinrich Megala | King Faraday King Faraday King Faraday is a fictional secret agent featured in DC Comics. Faraday first appeared in Danger Trail #1 , and was created by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino.-Fictional character biography:... |
Harvey Bullock Harvey Bullock (comics) Harvey Bullock is a fictional character from DC Comics' Batman titles.-Fictional character biography:Prior to the 1984-85 DC maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths, Bullock is a crooked police detective under instructions from Gotham City's Mayor Hamilton Hill to sabotage Commissioner Gordon's career... |
Lady Liberty Lady Liberty (comics) Lady Liberty is the name of several fictional characters in the DC Comics Universe.-Fictional character biographies:Lady Liberty is a member of the Force of July, a government sponsored superhero team. She first appeared in Batman and the Outsiders Annual #1 . Her costume consists of robes and a... |
Bronze Tiger Bronze Tiger Bronze Tiger is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Universe. He is a martial artist who first appeared in Dragon's Fists, a novel by Dennis O'Neil and Jim Berry, starring Richard Dragon. His first DC Comics appearance was in Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter.-Early years:Ben Turner comes... |
|
| Captain Atom Captain Atom Captain Atom is a fictional comic book superhero that has existed in three basic incarnations. Created by writer Joe Gill and artist/co-writer Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Space Adventures #33 . Captain Atom was created for Charlton Comics but was later acquired by DC Comics and revised for... |
John Chase | Valentina Vostok Valentina Vostok Valentina Vostok is a fictional character by DC Comics. She first appeared in Showcase #94, , and was created by Paul Kupperberg and Jim Aparo.-Fictional character biography:... |
Mayflower Mayflower (comics) Mayflower is a fictional superhero in the DC Universe. She first appeared in Batman and the Outsiders Annual #1 .-Fictional character biography:... |
Vixen Vixen (comics) Vixen is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine published by DC Comics universe. She debuted in Action Comics #521 , and was created by Gerry Conway and Bob Oksner.-Publication history:... |
|
| Major Force Major Force Major Force is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. He is a supervillain that first appeared in Captain Atom vol. 3, #12 .-Early life:... |
Cherie Chase | Gary Washington | Silent Majority Silent Majority (comics) Silent Majority is a fictional character in the DC Universe. He first appeared in Batman and the Outsiders Annual #1 , as a member of the government-sponsored superhero team the Force of July.-Fictional character biography:... |
Ravan Ravan (comics) Ravan is a fictional DC Comics villain. His first appearance was in Suicide Squad vol. 1 #1 , he was created by John Ostrander and Luke McDonnell.-Publication history:... |
|
| Black Thorn Black Thorn (comics) Black Thorn is a DC Comics character. She first appeared in Vigilante #45 , and was created by Paul Kupperberg and Tod Smith.-Fictional character biography:... |
Sparkler Sparkler (comics) Sparkler is a fictional character in the DC Universe. He debuted in Batman and the Outsiders Annual #1 .-Fictional character biography:... |
Captain Boomerang Captain Boomerang Captain Boomerang is a fictional character in the . A supervillain traditionally portrayed as an enemy of the Flash... |
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| Checkmate Knights | Abraham Lincoln Carlyle | Duchess Lashina Lashina is a fictional character, and extraterrestrial warrior woman published by DC Comics. Created by Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Mister Miracle vol. 1 #6 .-Fictional character biography:... |
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| Shade, the Changing Man Shade, the Changing Man Shade, the Changing Man is a fictional comic book character created by Steve Ditko for DC Comics in 1977. The character was later adapted by Peter Milligan and became one of the first Vertigo titles.... |
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| Count Vertigo Count Vertigo Count Werner Vertigo is a DC Comics supervillain. First appearing in World's Finest Comics #251 , Count Vertigo is the last descendant of the royal family that ruled the small eastern European country of Vlatava that was taken over by the Soviets and later became devastated by the Spectre.-Starting... |